The old public library of Cincinnati was built in 1874 on the site reserved for an opera house. It was one of the country’s most beautiful and large public libraries, with a capacity for holding up to 300,000 books in its collection. With five levels of cast-iron shelving, a fabulous foyer, checkerboard marble floors, and an atrium lit by a skylight ceiling, the place was breathtaking. The building was located in Downtown Cincinnati at 629 Vine St. downtown Cincinnati. Five levels of bookshelves jammed the walls. Shafts of sunlight cut through the windows to provide ample illumination. The library was built at a cost of $383,594.53, around $7 million today.
Why was the Cincinnati Library demolished?
There were several reasons behind the demolition of this magnificent library. The books were stacked beyond the reach due to a lack of space. The ventilation system was failing, water leaks, the paint was peeling, and some walls were cracked. The building was also had safety issues that were too costly to fix. Eventually, these conditions would make the place unbearable. The management decided to move the library to another place.
In January 1955 a new contemporary library was opened at 800 Vine Street. The old building was sold to Leyman Corp. And by June of 1955, the old building was demolished. The site is now a parking garage. The three heads that once guarded the main entrance of the library were the only original features of the building that were saved and placed in the new library’s garden.
These historical photographs give us a glimpse of the Public Library of Cincinnati before it was demolished in 1955.
This shit we do in America makes me sick. Tiger’s Stadium was torn down, and that was the worst. This history has become another nondescript patch of grass in Detroit, which is so sad to see.
The whole thing is horrible and libraries like this should be preserved for reading, but who am I kidding, I won’t bother reading anything
It doesn’t seem safe or efficient, no matter how impressive these shelving systems are! Shifting shelves with five or more stacks is difficult enough. However, it’s quite beautiful.
A parking garage is destroying all that beautiful woodwork
It still amazes me that they destroyed it.
In my experience, many preservationists are quicker to protest than to pledge money and raise funds for the purchase of a historic property. It is unclear what the details were for this building, but many of these folks wait for other people or their local governments to provide the funds. That’s not how the game works. Even historically significant properties are subject to market rules.